Zoe Ball teases totally new career during emotional chat with Robbie Williams on BBC Radio 2

Robbie Williams was one of the famous faces who appeared on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show this morning to pay tribute to her as she prepares to leave the Breakfast show

Singer Robbie Williams has shared a touching message for Zoe Ball as the broadcaster prepares to hang up her headphones.

The 54-year-old announced last month that she was stepping down from hosting Radio 2’s Breakfast show after six years, with Scott Mills set to take over the slot. Zoe’s last live show will air on Friday, with a whole host of famous faces ensuring she gets a good send-off throughout this week.

Angels hitmaker Robbie is one of the big names popping in to wish Zoe as she embarks on a new chapter in life. “Oh and by the way, congratulations to you on your service to entertainment” the singer began in his tribute as he appeared on Zoe’s BBC Radio 2 show this morning.

“I know this is not the end completely for you,” he continued, before Zoe piped up to joke: “Or is it? I’m taking up gardening. I’m going to work in a garden centre” Getting back on track with his on-air accolade, Robbie tweaked his planned tribute to tell the DJ: “Well I just want to say thank you for your services SO FAR to the entertainment world, to BBC Radio 2, to all that have gone before you and will come after you, but to you in particular.

Robbie Williams issued an emotional tribute to his old pal on-air this morning ( 
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“The transformative thing that you do and the kindness that you exude is important and has been important and will be important to people’s lives, so congrats to you!” A clearly emotional Zoe was moved by his kind words as she told him: “Robbie, I love you to bits. I feel like I’ve just been ordained.”

After announcing last month that she was stepping back from her Radio 2 show, Zoe went on to reveal that she wakes up most days with “awful headaches” due to a health condition which causes pain in the jaw joint and surrounding muscles. In an Instagram post, she said she had a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, which affects the movement of the jaw, according to the NHS.

Discussing her condition, she wrote: “I have TMJ and wake most days with awful headaches from tension & jaw clenching.” Zoe shared a photo of her face tensed before receiving treatment and an after shot of it more relaxed, saying she was “so grateful” to the clinic which has helped her. Symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) include pain around your jaw, ear and temple, a headache around your temples and difficulty opening your mouth fully, according to the NHS website.

Zoe revealed on her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on November 19 that she she felt it was time for her to “step away from the very early mornings and focus on family”. The radio DJ, who took over presenting the morning programme in 2019 from Chris Evans, took a break from hosting her show over the summer, returning in September, and in April this year announced the death of her mother Julia Peckham.

The mum-of-two was the BBC’s highest-paid on-air female presenter in 2023/24 with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999, ranking her second on the list of top-earning talent behind Gary Lineker, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1998, a post she held until 2000, and she also co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.